The Council for Law Enforcement Reserves is rapidly gaining ground on its goal of assessing the "state of the nation" regarding Law Enforcement Reserve Programs (LERPs) and the reserve law enforcement profession. The assessment task, of course, is only the first step. The larger goals involve establishment of consistent policies for reserve programs across the country, exchange of best practices among reserve organizations and acceptance of reserve officers by their full-time peers. At this stage, though, it is necessary to take stock of where we are and outline in the very broadest terms where we think we need to be.
In the Reserve Peace Officer area of California's P.O.S.T. website (found here in ReserveCop.Com™ under Links), they cite 600 agencies in the state currently employing some 6,200 Reserve Law Enforcement Officers (RLEOs). That sounds like a large force, but it is only one reserve officer for every 5,900 residents in a state of approximately 36.7 million.
In Oklahoma, approximately 4,000 RLEOs represent almost one-third of the State's available law enforcement personnel (there are about 10,000 full-time LEOs in Oklahoma). For the state, this is a reserve manpower pool of one RLEO per one thousand residents. That's probably a good goal for all States: a trained, certified, equipped, and active Reserve Law Enforcement Officer community that's sized to provide one RLEO for every one thousand citizens.
For the nation, this would mean eventually having 300,000 RLEOs serving our communities and available for any level of local, regional, or homeland security crisis, for both short-term and long-term contingencies.
The cost of creating and maintaining this force is nominal, as RLEOs are generally volunteers and even when paid, do not accrue benefits. LERPs are an economical, cost-effective, and rational solution to improving homeland security.
Besides being a good value for the community, RLEOs provide a signficant surge capability that can't be created overnight. Law enforcement officers take time to train and then only become useful after acquiring significant experience on the street. Law enforcement is a "doing" profession—many of its skills, tactics, and art can only be learned and honed after countless repetitions. It's an unavoidable fact: you can't create a professional law enforcement presence quickly. It takes considerable planning and preparation. Suitable personnel are hard to come by, recruiting is time consuming and attrition rates among candidates and cadets should always remain high.
If we're going to have 300,000 RLEOs available to our nation then important policy decisions must be made now and the direction needs to be set at the national level. The infrastructure, precedent and existing LERP base nation-wide must be expanded. All major agencies should be required to establish LERPs (and many already have). Those jurisdictions that haven't may need federal policies to help change established orthodoxies that may be resistant to change.
These initiatives need to begin now and they need to have sponsorship from the highest levels. It would not be inconceivable for reserve law enforcement to have representation in Homeland Security, FEMA and every state government. Realistically, this will take a few years to accomplish. It will be worth the effort, though, and we are starting now. The Council for Law Enforcement Reserves invites you to join us, sign in and start interacting with other reserve officers and interested partners across the country. Share your experience, learn from others and help us promote Law Enforcement Reserves.
